UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Stock Price Up 0.6% – Time to Buy?

Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) shot up 0.6% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $504.51 and last traded at $503.32. 1,044,554 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 4,102,520 shares. The stock had previously closed at $500.13.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on UnitedHealth Group from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America lowered their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $675.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $591.00 to $644.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, KeyCorp began coverage on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Friday, October 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $675.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $626.84.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.0 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $569.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $560.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $465.76 billion, a PE ratio of 32.97, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.58.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.00 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $100.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.14 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a net margin of 3.63% and a return on equity of 26.37%. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.56 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $2.10 dividend. This represents a $8.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.72%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On UnitedHealth Group

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UNH. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 1.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 45,540,102 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $26,626,387,000 after buying an additional 563,554 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in UnitedHealth Group by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,636,704 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,440,133,000 after acquiring an additional 318,039 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,061,916 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $4,884,019,000 after purchasing an additional 193,800 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 78,814.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 5,296,737 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,096,896,000 after purchasing an additional 5,290,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 30.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,816,254 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $1,942,956,000 after buying an additional 880,183 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

About UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated operates as a diversified health care company in the United States. The company operates through four segments: UnitedHealthcare, Optum Health, Optum Insight, and Optum Rx. The UnitedHealthcare segment offers consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services for national employers, public sector employers, mid-sized employers, small businesses, and individuals; health care coverage, and health and well-being services to individuals age 50 and older addressing their needs; Medicaid plans, children's health insurance and health care programs; and health and dental benefits, and hospital and clinical services, as well as health care benefits products and services to state programs caring for the economically disadvantaged, medically underserved, and those without the benefit of employer-funded health care coverage.